Russia says no intention to compete with US in Syria talks

Russia is not going to compete with the US for the leading role in Syria talks, the country's Foreign Ministry has said.

On Monday, the US State Department said Washington was suspending negotiations with Russia on restoring a ceasefire in Syria. (Reuters)

Russia is not going to compete with the US for the leading role in Syria talks, the country’s Foreign Ministry has said.

“It was not a game of who is stronger and who is wiser. It was a sincere attempt, over a year, to find a peaceful solution to the Syrian problem,” Xinhua news agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying on Tuesday.

“Now it is absolutely clear” that the US has not reached a single position on the Syrian issue, which became the key problem during talks between the countries, she said.

“It is clear that there are certain forces, groups of people, parties, who support one option of the issue’s solution, and other groups of people, who defend the opposite viewpoint. They imagine the opposite vision of what’s going on in Syria,” Zakharova said.

She added that “this is in my view the key reason why the US failed to fulfil the agreements it had signed”.

On Monday, the US State Department said Washington was suspending negotiations with Russia on restoring a ceasefire in Syria.